A Shard of Eternity
by acceberflame
Summary: What do you live for, if you cannot die? That is the question Kaoru Kamiya asks herself, for she is immortal-never growing older. Can love heal what other remedies do not? K &K, AU
1. My Immortal

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin does not and will not ever belong to me.

A Shard of Eternity

Chapter One: My Immortal

_What do you live for…if you cannot die?_

_What do you live for…if everyone fades away…_

_Except you?_

The sake is tasteless, Kaoru commented to herself, as she lifted the porcelain cup to her mouth and drank. She did not know why she drank it, for time had long worn away the taste and now it was simply a scalding liquid flooding through her mouth. Time….It was a plain, uncomplicated word, yet everybody seemed to need more of it…except her…Without looking up, Kaoru knew that a clock hung on the back wall of the restaurant she sat in now. It was a small device, round and circular, with black hands that moved round and round, signifying that time was passing by…and that everyone was aging with each second that passed.

Kaoru poured herself another cup of sake. The cold night air danced through the open door of the restaurant, throwing its chilly arms everything it touched. Tick tock, went the clock hanging on the wall. The sound of time ticking away had long lost its meanings to her. Tick tock, went the small black hands of the clock as time fled away. Tick tock.

"Your food, miss?" A tired looking waitress in a black skirt approached her, with a tray ladled with a steaming plate along with eating utensils.

The waitress's tired hands suddenly slipped as she handed the plate to Kaoru, and the shining silver fork and knife dropped. Kaoru saw them falling to her and saw a flash of light as the knife sliced into her skin, and then dropped with a thud onto the floor.

"I…I………" The waitress stared at Kaoru's leg.

There was little blood, yet it was still blood. The knife had left a long gash upon her leg and the blood was dripping from it. Drip…drip…drip…

The waitress stared, as the wound began to close, almost instantly. The flesh grew over the gash and finally closed over it. There was no trace of what had happened.

"You….you are……" The waitress's wide, unbelieving eyes stared into Kaoru's face, a face that seemed so serene…yet with a hint of sadness.

"I am not normal…I should leave now…I…must…go…"Kaoru whispered to herself. She turned to the astounded waitress and said softly, "You were just imagining. Nothing happened….I should go now."

She left the table, and walked towards the door. The night air was a blessing this time, soothing her….

For time had long abandoned Kaoru. Her mind was and would be forever the mind of an eighteen year old. But her soul was that of one who had seen far too much. Kaoru was ageless. She had been eighteen for more than two hundred years.


	2. The Road to Nowhere

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin does not and will not ever belong to me.

Note: Thank you Sakura Kamitsu for reviewing my story! It helped a lot!

A Shard of Eternity

Chapter Two: The Road to Nowhere

_Do you wait until the sun fades away_

_And the moon turns into stone?_

_Or do you try to find yourself in a place_

_No one has ever roamed?_

IT had all began when she turned eighteen, and had caught the mysterious illness that all the doctors could not explain. She had been burning all over-burning alive….No medicine could heal her, and the doctors were beginning to worry. But slowly, she began to recover, though everyone noticed something different about the girl's sapphire eyes. But Kaoru had gotten stronger with each passing day, and finally, she had been able to step out of bed. She shouldn't have. She should have stayed curled in her bed, in the darkness where no one could see…Maybe then she wouldn't have found out that she was immortal….

For the first few years, no one noticed that she was not aging. But as her friends began to grow older with each passing year, they all turned to Kaoru, who was still young…and un-aging. And her parents had also begun to stare at her-with suspicious eyes that seemed to ask, "Who are you? Are you really our daughter?" And at first, Kaoru hadn't known herself what had been happening….but when she did, she left. Left her home, her career, and life behind. She hadn't been scared…after all nothing could happen to her…she was immortal….

How could I have been so stupid, so careless, Kaoru thought angrily to herself. She stared up at the night sky…so lovely and black…Kaoru sighed. It was hard being different…it would always be hard…People just couldn't accept others who weren't the same as them. After her accident in the restaurant, she had walked all the way here, down to the little brook that she had noticed when she first drove to this town, seeking a place to stay for the night…Kaoru never stayed anywhere too long…she was a roamer. She never stayed in one town twice. Kaoru didn't need much. Her grandfather had been a billionaire, and had left much of the money to her in her bank account. Kaoru didn't really need to eat, but when she felt the urge to, she took the money from her account.

She headed back to her car, a beaten up Lexus. She fitted the key in, and started the engine. She would have to find another place to sleep at tonight…Kaoru sighed again…It was a lonely life she led….but one she was forced to lead.


	3. Scarlet

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin does not and will not ever belong to me.

Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story! Trying to update as soon as possible!

A Shard of Eternity

Chapter Three: Scarlet

_Love is like the wind_

_You can feel it, you can touch it_

_But can you catch it?_

She drove all night, her path illuminated by the moon and the streetlights. Her eyes wanted to close and rest, but she kept them open, driving…and thinking. Thinking of the past…thinking of the life she would have led…but couldn't…

Finally, when a thin sliver of gold that was the sun, appeared over the mountains, Kaoru stopped her car by the road. She closed her eyes and slept through sunrise, dreaming only of scarlet hair.

Kaoru yawned and opened her eyes. Peering about her, she realized that she had parked on the streets of a very small town. Children ran about the streets, laughing, and small, dusty antique shops lined the roads of the town. From the corner of her eye, Kaoru saw something…something red…something scarlet. Something she had seen in her dreams…

She turned and saw him…It was a young man, with rusty red hair. His eyes were a mixture of amber, lavender, and gold-a surprising combination that both startled and amazed her. The man sat at the edge of the sidewalk, painting something on a giant canvas. Kaoru stumbled out of the car. _Who is he? _she thought.And why was he in her dreams? She walked towards him uncertainly… He turned to her and smiled.

"Good morning! I see you've woken up!" the man smiled brightly. "I hope you don't mind that I've painted you. You looked quite graceful in that car sleeping, that you did!"

Kaoru looked at the canvas. It couldn't be her in the picture. The girl in the picture looked much too…serene. Sure, the girl in the picture had the same black hair, the same pale face….but that couldn't be her….

"…O-of course I don't mind…" Kaoru's face suddenly turned red with a strange notion. " You aren't some kind of pervert are you, drawing people while they're sleeping?"

The man smiled and laughed. "Of course not! I am a painter. I paint things that look beautiful and natural to me."

Her face turned an even brighter shade of red as he continued, "So where are you from?"

"Me? I'm from….I don't….I…I don't really have a home. I'm a wanderer…" Kaoru whispered.

The man nodded. "I see. Well, I'm Kenshin HImura. As I've mentioned before, I'm an artist, or painter. What's your name?"

"Kaoru….just Kaoru." She said.

"That is a very elegant name." Kenshin commented. "Would you like some lunch? My treat? Our only restaurant, The Songbirds, are quite excellent, that they are. I can leave my paints and canvas here. No one would care. So how about it?"

Kaoru's mind raced. Should she? It had been a long time since she had gone out on a date. But his wasn't really a date….it was just a…..outing with a….friend. Well, it wouldn't hurt to eat lunch with Kenshin. Besides, Kenshin was…._cute_…

"I'll understand if you don't want to eat-"

"It's fine with me," Kaoru said, smiling for the first time in a long time.

He offered his hand. Hesitating just a bit, she reached out her own hand to grasp his. All her thoughts of immortality were washed away…At this moment, she wanted just to have fun…with Kenshin.

Note: He he...slightly longer! Whoopee!


	4. Let Me Be Your Light

Disclaimer: Rurouni Kenshin does not and will not ever belong to me.

Note: Thanks to everyone who reviewed this story! Trying to update as soon as possible! Just finished piano testing for CM. Very hard work! This story's probably going to be about fifteen or so chapters long! Maybe less, maybe more…but it just depends of how I feel and how readers are liking it! I'll try to make this chapter even LONGER!

A Shard of Eternity

Chapter Four: Let Me Be Your LIght

_Can love heal a broken heart?_

_Or will it only make the crack_

_Open once more?_

As Kenshin had said, the food was edible-delicious in fact. And this time, it had taste, unlike the tasteless sake she had drank at the restaurant. The two talked about everything-and nothing. There wasn't the uncomfortable silence that occurred when she talked to other people. Instead, everything was….natural and smooth-flowing. _Surely we can be friends, cant we?_ Kaoru asked herself. _As long as he doesn't find out….it wouldn't hurt to make friends! _Kaoru smiled.

Kenshin gazed at the young woman who sat across from him. He couldn't explain her. Every little thing she did was graceful...She was like water…flowing here and there. She made him want to laugh at one moment-from joy of just being with her-and cry at the next-from thinking that she, like everything else, would soon be far away from him…

"Where do you plan on going next, Kaoru?" he asked.

Kaoru looked down, her mind whizzing with thoughts. "I-I I don't know. I guess I just go wherever the road takes me…But to tell the truth, sometimes I just feel like settling down…to stop my roaming…But I guess its hard to do that…

"Do you feel like that now?" he asked, the rays of the dying sun catching in his red hair.

"….I…I do…"

She really did. For once, she would like to have the normal kind of life…the one everyone else had. For once she would like to age…to grow old and develop the first of many gray hairs…to have children….to live….

Kenshin could see the longing in her eyes. Couldn't he help her? He spoke, impulsively.

"There's two rooms in my apartment….and my friend….Sanosuke….just moved out to get married….and………..if you want….you can live in that extra room….that is…if you would like to…You can stay for as long as you can…."

She made a small choking noise, her eyes blinking. She shouldn't….she couldn't…….Her hands tightened around the napkin on her lap. A long silence drifted in….Her mind was racing…Should she? Could she really have the chance to live a normal life…..until others around her found out her secret? She wanted to…yearned for…the normal life. And here…here was a chance…a chance to live the normal life….She could do it-live like everyone else. Well…at least until others found out about her immortality…She opened her mouth to speak, but words did not come out. She licked her dried, parched lips, and forced her voice to come out in a tiny squeak.

"Yes…I mean…thank you for the offer. I accept…….I'll….I'll help pay the rent of course….I can help cook….I mean….thank you for the offer…" Kaoru mentally slapped herself for babbling such stupid words.

"It's no big deal! I mean…we are friends, right?" He asked her, smiling.

"Yes….I hope we are…" She said softly….

The apartment was near the sea. The sunset could be seen-the red, pink, and orange pastel colors radiantly shining against the glass panes. Her room-the room she was to live in-was small but homely. The white walls were decorated with beautiful paintings of nature. A mirror hung from a nail that protruded from the wall.

"The room….it's….so lovely…I can see the ocean from the window…Thanks again…" she said.

"It's no problem, none at all." He smiled at her.

She suddenly wanted to hug him-wanted to throw her arms around his neck and yell with all her might. Instead she smiled as brightly as possible. He grinned back.

"Well…I'll leave you to get settled in. This is also your home now…well for as long as you want." He left the room, and Kaoru sighed.

This would be the start of a whole new life for her….She could have new friends, new neighbors, even a new love…..She couldn't wait for the new day to come…._But when everyone finds out…_a small voice said in the back of her head….She pushed the thought away. That would be something in the future. And now, she was living in the present.

Note: Do you like it? Please review if you do! You don't HAVE to…but it will make encourage the author a lot more if you do!


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